Structure of ball-and-socket joint used for coupling link members for driving a windshield wiper for vehicles

ABSTRACT

An improved structure of the ball-and-socket joint used for coupling link members for driving a windshield wiper for vehicles, comprising a combination of a ball fixedly mounted on one of the link members, and a socket mounted in the other link member to be pivotably connected to said one link member and having a recess for slidably receiving said ball therein. The improved ball-and-socket joint is provided with means for restraining the outward expansion of a collar-like section of the socket by pressing said section over the entire outer peripheral surface thereof, which collar-like section is formed integrally with the socket extending from the peripheral edge of the recess and has a plurality of slits formed therein.

United States Patent [191 Ito [ 1 Sept. 18, 1973 [22] Filed:

[75] Inventor: IsaoIto, Handa, Japan .[73] Assignee: NilkondensoKabushiki kalsha,

Aichi-Ken, Japan Apr. 2, 1971 [21] Appl. No.: 130,577

[30] Foreign Application PriorityData FOREIGN PATENTS OR APPLICATIONS217,804 10/1958 Australia 287/90 R 1,487,153 5/1967 France 287/87 287/90R 920,925 3/1963 Great Britain Primary Examiner-Andrew V. KundratAttorney-Cushman, Darby & Cushman [57] ABSTRACT An improved structure ofthe ball-and-socket joint used for coupling link members for driving awindshield wiper for vehicles, comprising a combination of a ballfixedly mounted on one of the link members, and a socket mounted in theother link member to be pivotably connected to said one link member andhaving a recess for slidably receiving said ball therein. The improvedball-and-socket joint is provided with means for restraining the outwardexpansion of a collar-like section of the socket by pressing saidsection over the entire outer peripheral surface thereof, whichcollar-like section is formed integrally with the socket extending fromthe peripheral edge of the recess and has a plurality of slits formedtherein.

2 Claims, 12 Drawing Figures Apr. 10, 1970 Japan 45/35083 Apr. 11, 1970Japan 45/34930 Apr. 11, 1970 Japan... 45/34931 521 US. Cl 287/90 0 s1rm. Cl. Fl6c 11/06 58 Field of Search 287/87, 90 R, 90 c, a 287/85 A, 90D [56] ReIerencesCited.

UNITED STATES PATENTS 1 3,210,105 1011965 Vogt 287/87 Pmmmsm m 3.759.555

' SHEET 1 of 2 INVENTOR 1 o ITO F ATTORNEY:

STRUCTURE OF BALL-AND-SOCKET .IOINT USED FOR COUPLING LINK MEMBERS FORDRIVING A WINDSHIELD WIPER FOR VEHICLES This invention relates to animproved structure of the ball-and-socket joint used for coupling linkmembers in a driving mechanism for a windshield wiper for vehicles.

Prior art ball-and-socket joints of this type include the one disclosedin French Pat. No. 1,185,952. This prior art ball-and-socket jointcomprises a ball and a socket which is made of an artificial resin, suchas polyamide, and formed with a recess for receiving said ball,said-socket being mounted in a hole formed in a connecting rod connectedto the crank arm of a wiper motor, and having an integral collar-likesection extending from the peripheral edge of said recess and having aplurality of slits formed therein over the entire circumference thereofso as to facilitate the insertion of the ball into said recess. Such aball-and-socket joint has the advantages that' the structure is simple,that both the ball and the socket can be produced at low costs and thatit can be assembled and disassembled easily. However, since the frontglass of a vehicle is curved, it is very rare that the joints at theopposite ends of the connecting rod operate on one and the same planeduring operation of the wiper, or in other words, the operating plane ofeach joint forms an angle to a plane perphendicular to the pivotal axisof the joint, and the wiper driving force acts in said operating plane,so that the socket is subjected to a force which urges the socket todisengage from the ball. Thus, the prior art ball-and-socket joint ofthe type described had the fatal drawback that the ball and the socketare occasionally disengaged from each other.

As an example of the ball-and-socket joints which are free of theabove-described drawback, reference is made to the one disclosed inBritish Pat. No. 885,198. The ball-and-socket joint disclosed in thispatent comprises a ball having an annular projecting shoulder of alarger diameter formed at the free end thereof, which is received in athroughhole of a socket similar to that of the above-described prior artjoint, made of an artificial resin. By constructing the joint in themanner described above, the disengagement of the ball and socket can beprevented by the engagement of the projecting shoulder with the upperedge of the socket, even when a load is imposed on the socket todisengage said socket from the ball, due to the same reason as mentionedabove. However, this type of ball-andsocket joint has the disadvantagethat the configuration of the ball becomes complicated and therefore,the production of the same is troublesome. Furthermore, in assemblingthe ball and socket a lubricant, such as grease, is usuallyapplied tothe sliding surfaces thereof for the purpose of minimizing the frictionat the sliding surface of the socket and also minimizing the coefficientof friction at said sliding surfaces so that the drive of the motor maybe transmitted most efficiently, but according to the above-describedprior art joint the ball extends through the through-hole of the socket,with the free end thereof exposed outside above the upper surface of thesocket. Therefore, when the joint was used at a location where it issplashed with water, the lubricant was washed away, with the result thatthe coefficient of friction at the sliding surfaces increased and thesliding surface of the socket was readily worn out and further the lossof the driving force was extremely large. On the other hand, when thejoint was used at a location where sand is allowed to attach thereto,the sliding surfaces of the ball and socket were scratched by the sandintruding therebetween and the coefficient of friction increased,resulting in wear of the sliding surface of the socket and a large lossof driving force as in the preceding case.

Such a trouble caused by water or sand is a serious problem,particularly in the light of the fact that, while the wiper wasinstalled in the drivers cabin in the past, recently it has in mostcases been installed in the engine room, for relieving the driver fromthe noise generated by the wiper during operation and due to thedifficulty in providing a space for the installation of the wiper, andin such condition, the joint is covered with a water and dust preventingcover made of rubber or the like material. However, the use of the covernot only adds to the cost of the wiper but also renders the wipermounting operation extremely difficult.

The present invention contemplates the provision of an improved, uniqueball-and-socket joint which eliminates the disadvantages of the twoprior art joints described above. Namely, the object of the presentinven tion is to provide a highly practical ball-and-socket joint whichcomprises means for externally pressing the collar-like section over theentire peripheral surface thereof to restrain the outward expansion ofsaid collarlike section, whereby the socket and the ball are maintainedin tight engagement with each other, with no fear of disengagement underthe driving force during operation of the wiper, and in addition, theintrusion of water or sand into the sliding surfaces of said ball andsocket can be prevented.

According to the present invention, there is provided a ball-and-socketjoint for use in coupling link members for driving a wiper for vehicles,comprising a ball fixedly mounted on one of said link members, and asocket mounted in a hole at one end of the other link member to bepivotably connected to said one link member and having a recess forreceiving said ball, said socket having an integral collar-like sectionextending outwardly from the peripheral edge of said recess and having aplurality of slits formed therein over the entire circumference thereof;in which means is provided adjacent the collar-like section forrestraining the outward expansion of said collar-like section bypressing it over the entire outer peripheral surface thereof.

The above and other object and advantages of the in vention will becomeapparent from the following description taken in conjunction-with theaccompanying drawings in which same reference numerals indicate same orsimilar parts.

In the drawings;

FIG. 1 is a schematic front view of an embodiment of the driving devicefor driving a wiper for vehicles;

FIG. 2 is a side view of the driving device shown in FIG. 1;

FIGS. 3 and 4 are cross-sectional views respectively showing, in anenlarged scale, the structures of conventional ball-and-socket jointsused in the driving device;

FIG. 5 is a cross-sectional view, similar to FIGS. 3 and 4, of anembodiment of the ball-and-socket joint according to the presentinvention;

FIG. 6 is a cross-sectional view, similar to FIGS. 3 and 4, of anotherembodiment of the ball-and-socket joint of the invention;

FIG. 7 is a cross-sectional view of still another embodiment of theinvention;

FIG. 8 is a view illustrating the manner of assembling theball-and-socket joint of the structure shown in FIG.

FIG. 9 is a cross-sectional view of still another embodiment of theinvention;

FIG. 10 is a cross-sectional view of still another embodiment of theinvention;

FIG. 11 is a plan view of the embodiment of FIG. 10, looking in thedirection of XI-XI; and

FIG. 12 is a view illustrating the manner of assembling theball-and-socket joint of the structure shown in FIG. 10.

In the device shown in FIGS. 1 and 2, a crank arm 3 is mounted on aspindle 2 which is driven by a wiper motor 1. The crank arm 3 isconnected to one end of a connecting rod 4 through a ball-and-socketjoint 9 to be described later. The other end of the connecting rod 4 isconnected to a link lever 5 through another balland-socket joint 9. Therotational motion of the wiper motor 1 is converted into a rockingmotion by the link mechanism described above, and transmitted to a pivotpin 6 mounted on a pivot holder 60, to drive a wiper arm 7 fixed to saidpin 6. Reference numeral 8 designates a wiper blade which is driven bythe arm 7 to wipe the glass surface.

The prior art ball-and-socket joint disclosed in French Pat. No.l,l85,952 mentioned above, has a structure as shown in FIG. 3. Namely, asocket 10a made of a synthetic resin, such as polyamide, is mounted in ahole formed in the connecting rod 4 and secured therein by a radialprojection 10'a engaging the peripheral edge of said hole. Referencenumeral 13 designates a collar-like section formed integrally with thesocket l0'a which has a recess 12a for receiving a ball 11, and having aplurality of radial slits circumferentially of the section to facilitateinsertion of the ball 11 into said recess. Such a structure, as statedpreviously, has the disadvantage that the socket 10a is disengaged fromthe ball 11 during operation of the wiper.

FIG. 4 shows a ball-and-socket joint of a structure as disclosed inBritish Pat. No. 885,l98 mentioned before, and a ball 11b has an annularprojecting shoulder ll'b formed at the free end thereof and is receivedin a through-hole 12b of a socket 10b made of a synthetic resinmaterial, so that even when a load is imposed on the ball 1 lb whichurges said ball to disengage from the socket 1012, the disengagement ofsaid ball and socket is prevented by the engagement of the projectingshoulder ll'b with the inner edge of the socket 10b. However, such astructure has the drawback as set forth previously.

The present invention will now be described with ref erence to theembodiments thereof. Describing in detail a ball-and-socket joint 9shown in FIG. 5, a ball 11 is fixedly mounted on the crank arm 3 by wayof a shank 19, while a socket 10 made of an artificial resin, such aspolyamide, polyacetal or polyurethane, is provided on the connecting rod4 by forming it integrally with or press-fitting it into a hole formedin said connecting rod. The socket 10 is formed with a recess 12 forreceiving the ball 11. Further, the socket 10 has integrally formedtherewith a collar-like section 13 to facilitate the insertion of theball 11 into the recess 12, said collar-like section 13 having aplurality of slits formed therein along the circumference thereof andhaving a spherical inner surface concentric with the inner surface ofsaid recess 12. The outer peripheral surface of the collar-like section13 is also spherical in substantially concetrical relation with theinner peripheral surface thereof. The socket 10 further has an annularprojection 14 surrounding the collar-like section 13 with an annularspace 15 therebetween, and the outer surface of said projection 14 isformed with threads. Reference numeral 16 designates an annular specialform nut having a U-shaped cross section and the inner surface of anouter flange 17 thereof is formed with threads. An inner flange 18 ofthe annular nut 16 is so shaped as to be fitted into the annular space15. By screw-threading the inner surface of the outer flange 17 over theouter surface of the annular projection 14, the inner flange 18 isfitted into the annular groove 15 to press the collar-like section 13externally. In the balland-socket joint constructed as described above,the driving force acting on the connecting rod 4, during operation ofthe wiper, creates a force acting in the direction U in which the socket10 is disengaged from the ball 11, and a force acting in the oppositedirection L. However, since the inner flange 18 of the special form nut16 is tightly fitted in the annular space between the collar-likesection 13 and the annular projection 14 to press said collar-likesection externally, the outer expansion of said collar-like section isrestrained and hence the socket 10 will not be disengaged from the ball1 1 even if the force is exerted on said socket in the direction U.

On the other hand, when it is desired to disassemble the joint forreplacing the component parts thereof or other reaons, the special formnut 16 is loosened, whereupon the collar-like section 13 is releasedfrom restraining force and allowed to expand outwardly when the socket10 is pulled upwardly by lifting the connecting rod 4. Thus, the socket10 can be easily disengaged from the ball 11. The socket 10 does nothave a through-hole formed therein and the collar-like section at theopen side of said socket is externally pressed by the special form nut16 over the entire peripheral surface thereof. Therefore, even when thejoint is used at a location where it is easily splashed with water,there is no possibility of a lubricant, such as grease, applied to thesliding surfaces of the socket and ball, being washed away by the water,nor is there the possibility of sand being allowed to intrude into thesliding surfaces even when the joint is used at a location where sand iseasily attached to the joint. Hence, there is no possibility that thecoefflcient of friction increases resulting in a loss of driving forceor lowering of durability of the joint.

Describing the second embodiment of the invention shown in FIG. 6, thecollar-like section 13 of the socket 10 is formed with threads on theouter peripheral surface thereof and the nut 16 is screw-threaded oversaid collar-like section. Obviously, the structure shown in this Figurealso enables the same functional effect as above described to beobtained, and in this case, a commonly used nut can be used. In theembodiment of FIG. 6, an annular projection indicated by numeral 40 maybe formed around the hole of the connecting rod 4, so as to prevent theshrinkage of the socket 10 subsequent to molding when said socket ismolded integrally with the connecting rod, and also to substantiallyincrease the breadth of that portion of said connecting rod other thanthe portion where the hole is formed and thereby increase the strengthof said portion by increasing the modulus of section at said portion.

Next, the third embodiment of the invention will be described withreference to FIGS. 7 and 8. In this embodiment, a socket of an artificalresin similar to those in the preceding embodiments has a collar-likesection of the same shape and has a recess 12 for receiving the ball 11fixed on the crank arm 3. An annular stopper 20 made of an elasticdeformable material, such as polyacetal or polyamide, is verticallyslidably mounted around a cylindrical shunk 19 of the ball 11. Thestopper 20 has a leaf spring-like arm 21 and a recessed portion 22 soshaped as to embrace the periphery of the collar-like section 13 of thesocket l0.

The manner in which the ball-and-socket joint of the structure describedabove, will be explained with reference to FIG. 8. Before the ball 11 isreceived in the socket 10, the stopper 20 is urged toward the ball 11under the biasing force of the arm 21 as shown in FIG. 7, and in thisstate an annular gap 14 is formed between said ball 1 1 and the recessedportion 22 of said stopper 20. The collar-like section 13 of the socket10 is applied with force to the free end of the ball 11 under suchcondition, whereupon it is expanded due to its own elasticity and by theeffect of the slits formed therein, and the ball 11 can be easilyreceived in the recess 12. When the ball 11 has been received in therecess 12 to a certain extent, the edge of the collar-like section 13abuts against the stopper 20, and further application of force to thesocket causes deformation of the arm 21 of said stopper and urges saidstopper toward the crank arm 3. As a result, the gap 14 between thestopper 20 and the ball 11 becomes larger and the edge of thecollar-like section 13 moves beyond the center of the ball 11 and fitsinto the recessed portion 22 of said stopper 20. Thus, the stopper 20 iscoupled with the collar-like section 13 of the socket 10 in a manner toembrace the latter externally. Therefore, in the state of the jointwherein the ball 11 is completely received in the socket 10 as shown inFIG. 7, the expansion of the collar-like section 13 of said socket 10 isrestrained by the stopper 20 and the socket 10 will not be disengagedfrom the ball 11 even when a force acts thereon in the direction of U orin the opposite direction L during operation of the wiper, due to thedriving force acting on the connecting rod 4. On the other hand, whereit is desired to disassemble the joint for replacing the component partsor other reasons, the arm 21 of the stopper is pushed toward the crankarm 3, whereby it is further deformed elastically and the recessedportion 22 is'detached from the collar-like section 13 of the socket 10,allowing said collar-like section to expand. Therefore, the socket 10and the ball 11 can be easily disengaged by pulling one of them from theother one. The socket 10 does not have a through-hole formed therein andthe stopper 20 presses the collar-like section 13 in a manner to embraceit externally. Therefore, there is no possibility of a lubricant, suchas grease, applied to the sliding surfaces of the socket and the ball,being washed away by water, nor is there the possibility of sand beingallowed to intrude into said sliding surfaces. Hence, the disadvantagethat the coefficient of friction at the sliding surfaces increasesresulting in a loss of driving force of lowering of durability of thejoint, can be avoided.

The fourth embodiment of the invention will be described with referenceto FIG. 9. In. this embodiment,

the stopper 20 is further provided with an annular recess 24 for holdinga coil spring 23, in addition to the recessed portion 22 which pressesthe collar-like section 13 externally, and said stopper 20 is pressedagainst the outer peripheral surface of said collar-like section 13under the biasing force of said coil spring 23 extended between it andthe crank arm 3. By employing such structure, it will be obvious thatthe stopper 20 is not necessarily be molded of an elastic deformablematerial as is in the third embodiment but can be made from a highlyrigid material such as an iron sheet.

The fifth embodiment of the invention will be de scribed with referenceto FIGS. 10 12 hereunder:

In this embodiment, similar to the preceding embodiments, a ball 11 isfixed on the crank arm 3, while a socket 10 molded of a similarartificial resin is mounted in the hole of the connecting rod 4 bymolding it integrally with or press-fitting it in the hole of saidconnecting rod 4, and has a through-hole 30 formed therein for receivingthe ball 11. A cap 31 of a size just engageable in the hole of thesocket, which is molded of an elastic deformable material, such assynthetic resin, is fitted in said hole from the same side as the freeend of the ball 11. The cap 31 has two integral arms 32 and at the endof each arm 32 is provided a projection 33 extending at right angles tosaid arm. On the other side of the through-hole 30 of the socket 10 isformed a collar-like section 13 similar to those in the precedingembodiments, to facilitate the insertion of the ball 1 1 into saidthrough-hole. In this embodiment, however, the outer periphery of thecollar-like section is tapered. The outside of the collar-like section13 is provided a stopper 34 which has formed at substantially the centerthereof an opening for snugly receiving said collar-like section. Thestopper 34 has an annular portion 35 defining the central opening and aband-like section 36 of a width substantially equal to the width of thearms 32 of the cap 31. The band-like section 36 extends at right anglesto the annular portion 35 and has a hole 37 formed in each end thereof.The ends of the band-like section 36 of the stopper 34 are extendedthrough a notch 41 and a hole 42 formed in the connecting rod 4respectively, and the projections 33 formed at the ends of therespective arms 32 of the cap 31 are engaged in the holes 37 formedthrough the end portions of said band-like section 36 respectively.whereby said cap 31 and said stopper 34 are coupled integrally with eachother. Reference numeral 39 designates a plurality of elastic deformabletongues projecting from the periphery of the socket and formedintegrally with said socket.

The manner in which the ball-and-socket joint of the structure describedabove is assembled, will be explained with reference to FIGS. 10 and 12.Before the ball 11 is inserted into the through-hole 30 of the socket10, the stopper 34 is urged downwardly by the elastic tongues 39 asshown in FIG. 12. Therefore, the stopper 34 is separated from thecollar-like section 13 of the socket 10 and the expansion of saidcollar-like section is not restrained by said stopper. When the ball 11is forced into the collar-like section 13 of the socket 10 under suchcondition, said collar-like section is ex panded due to the slits formedtherein and its own elasticity, and the ball 11 can be easily insertedinto the through-hole 30 of the socket 10. In this case, however, sincethe free end of the ball 11 pushes up the cap 31 which is assembled in amanner to close one side of the through-hole 30 of said socket 141,before it is completely inserted into said through-hole, the stopper 34connected to said cap 31 is moved upward while deforming the elastictongues 39, and tightly applied to the outer peripheral surface of thecollar-like section 13. Therefore, in the state wherein the ball 11 iscompletely fitted into the socket 10, the expansion of the collar-likesection 13 of said socket is restrained by the stopper 34 and saidstopper 34 presses said collarlike section when the socket tends to slipoff the ball. Thus, the socket 10 will not be disengaged from the ball11 even when it undergoes a force in the direction U or in the oppositedirection L during operation of the wiper, due to the driving forceacting on the connecting rod 4. This force becomes larger in proportionto the deviation between the operating planes of the balls 9 at theopposite ends of the connecting rod 4, and in this state, the crank arm3 and the connecting rod 4 are not in parallel to each other as shown inFIG. 10 but said operating planes forms an angle to each other. It willbe understood that if, in this case, the free end of the ball 11 is madeflat instead of forming it uniformly in the spherical shape and thecontacting portion of the cap 31 with the ball 11 is also made flatcomplementary to said flat free end of the ball, the force to lift thecap 31 can be increased in proportion to the angle formed by theconnecting rod 4 and the crank arm 3, and the stopper 34 will pressesthe outer peripheral surface of the collar-like section 13 of the socket10 with a stronger force, so that the possibility of the socket 10slipping off the ball 1 1 can be completely eliminated even when theforce to urge said socket to slip off said ball becomes large due to theincreasing deviation between the operating planes. On the other hand,where it is desired to disassemble the joint for replacing the componentparts or other reasons, the ends of the arms 32 of the cap 31 are pushedtoward the crank arm 3, whereupon said arms 32 are deformed and thestopper 34 is allowed to move toward the crank arm 3, so that saidstopper 34 is detached from the collar-like section 13 of the socket 10,providing for expansion of said collarlike section. Therefore, bypulling the socket 10 or ball 11 from one another, the collar-likesection 13 is expanded easily and the socket 10 can be easily disengagedfrom the ball 11. Further, since the cap 31 is connected in such amanner as to close the through-hole of the socket 10, there is nopossibility of a lubricant, such as grease, applied to the slidingsurfaces of the socket 10 and the ball 11, being washed away by water orof sand intruding into said sliding surfaces, and hence a loss ofdriving force or lowering of durability of the joint due to increasingcoefficient of friction at the sliding surfaces can be avoided.

In the embodiment described above, an annular projection 40 is formedalong the peripheral edge of the hole formed in the connecting rod 4.This annular projection 40 serves to prevent shrinkage of the socket 10subsquent to molding when said socket is molded concurrently with saidconnecting rod and also to substantially increase the breadth of thatportion of the connecting rod other than the portion of said hole toincrease the strength of said portion.

As described above, the ball-andsocket joint according to the instantinvention can be assembled and disassembled with much case, hasexcellent waterand dustproof properties and eliminates the necessity ofprovision of a cover made of rubber or the like material. Furthermore,since the expansion of the collar-like section is restrained by pressingthe outer peripheral surface externally, there is no fear of the balland socket being disengaged from each other under a force appliedthereto during operation of the wiper. The ball-andsocket joint of theinvention is also advantageous in that, since the annular projectingshoulder which has been formed at the free end of the ball in the priorart joints, can be eliminated, the ball can be of a simple shape andhence can be machined easily.

I claim:

1. A ball-and-socket joint for use in coupling link members for drivinga windshield wiper for vehicles, comprising a ball fixedly mounted onone of said link members,

and

a socket mounted in a hole formed at one end of the other link member tobe pivotably connected to said one link member and having a recess forreceiving said ball, said socket having an integral collar-like sectionextending outwardly from the peripheral edge of said recess and having aplurality of slits formed therein over the entire circumference thereof;

characterized in that means is provided adjacent the collar-like sectionfor, upon completion of the connection of the ball and socket,restraining the outward expansion of said collar-like section bypressing it over the entire outer peripheral surface thereof; the socketincluding the collar-like section thereof, and said means, substantiallycovering the ball;

said socket being formed with a through-hole the peripheral surface ofwhich defines a sliding surface of said ball receiving recess of thesocket, and there being provided an elastically deformable capengageable with the upper open end of said throughhole to close the sameand an annular stopper operatively connected to said cap and surroundingsaid socket, said collar like section being restrained from outwardexpansion by said stopper.

2. A ball-and-socket joint for use in coupling link members for drivinga windshield wiper for vehicles comprising a ball fixedly mounted on oneof said link members,

and

a socket mounted in a hole formed at one end of the other link member tobe pivotably connected to said one link member and having a recess forreceiving said ball, said socket having an integral collar-like sectionextending outwardly from the peripheral edge of said recess and having aplurality of slits formed therein over the entire circumference thereof;

characterized in that means is provided adjacent the collar-like sectionfor, upon completion of the connection of the ball and socket,restraining the outward expansion of said collar-like section bypressing it over the entire outer peripheral surface thereof; the socketincluding the collar-like section thereof, and said means, substantiallycovering the ball;

said socket having a plurality of integral tongues extending along theouter peripheral surface of the collar-like section from the peripheraledge of said recess from which said collar-like section extendsoutwardly, and the free ends of said tongues being in engagement withsaid stopper urging it to move away from said cap.

UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE CERTIFICATE OF CORRECTION Patent No.3,759,555 V Dated September 18, 1973 Inventoflx) Isao I130 It iscertified that error appears in the above-identified patent and thatsaid Letters Patent are hereby corrected as shown below:

In the heading:

Item (73). "hchanee "meoneeeeo Kabushiki Keishe to -Nippondenso Kabu shiki Keisha.

Signed and sealed this 2nd day of April 1971.].-

(SEAL) Attest:

EDWARD M.FLET0HER,JR. c. MARSHALL DANN Attesting Officer CommissionerofPatents USCOMM-DC 00376-P09 u.s. sovnnmuq nmmm on nu o-au-au FORMPO-IOSO (10-69)

1. A ball-and-socket joint for use in coupling link members for drivinga windshield wiper for vehicles, comprising a ball fixedly mounted onone of said link members, and a socket mounted in a hole formed at oneend of the other link member to be pivotably connected to said one linkmember and having a recess for receiving said ball, said socket havingan integral collar-like section extending outwardly from the peripheraledge of said recess and having a plurality of slits formed therein overthe entire circumference thereof; characterized in that means isprovided adjacent the collar-like section for, upon completion of theconnection of the ball and socket, restraining the outward expansion ofsaid collar-like section by pressing it over the entire outer peripheralsurface thereof; the socket including the collar-like section thereof,and said means, substantially covering the ball; said socket beingformed with a through-hole the peripheral surface of which defines asliding surface of said ball receiving recess of the socket, and therebeing provided an elastically deformable cap engageable with the upperopen end of said through-hole to close the same and an annular stopperoperatively connected to said cap and surrounding said socket, saidcollar like sectIon being restrained from outward expansion by saidstopper.
 2. A ball-and-socket joint for use in coupling link members fordriving a windshield wiper for vehicles comprising a ball fixedlymounted on one of said link members, and a socket mounted in a holeformed at one end of the other link member to be pivotably connected tosaid one link member and having a recess for receiving said ball, saidsocket having an integral collar-like section extending outwardly fromthe peripheral edge of said recess and having a plurality of slitsformed therein over the entire circumference thereof; characterized inthat means is provided adjacent the collar-like section for, uponcompletion of the connection of the ball and socket, restraining theoutward expansion of said collar-like section by pressing it over theentire outer peripheral surface thereof; the socket including thecollar-like section thereof, and said means, substantially covering theball; said socket having a plurality of integral tongues extending alongthe outer peripheral surface of the collar-like section from theperipheral edge of said recess from which said collar-like sectionextends outwardly, and the free ends of said tongues being in engagementwith said stopper urging it to move away from said cap.